tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-325206982024-02-21T01:58:54.985-05:00COMMENTARY by NATALIE M. ROSENThis is a running commentary on contemporary social, political and religious issues. From the Introduction of James Comey's book "A Higher Loyalty -- Truth, Lies and Leadership" "Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary" Reinhold NiebuhrNatalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.comBlogger3540125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-15670618754351910042023-11-17T15:01:00.006-05:002023-11-17T15:14:16.039-05:00NOT ANYMORE<p> </p><div><div dir="auto"><div class="x1iorvi4 x1pi30zi x1swvt13 xjkvuk6" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message" id=":r517:"><div class="x78zum5 xdt5ytf xz62fqu x16ldp7u"><div class="xu06os2 x1ok221b"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"><div class="xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I wrote this last week and for the most part sat on it because I did not want my writing to imply anything against Israel. As stated again it is merely an opinion honed in this eternal struggle which has cost thousands of dead. It never stops! The carnage on both sides is incomprehensible.</div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I paste my opinion below. It is entitled "NOT ANYMORE"</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I am incredulous that my Jewish people are responsible for these dastardly attacks in Gaza resulting in thousands of deaths -- <span><a tabindex="-1"></a></span>especially deaths that include children and babies. Hospitals are being bombed. The blood of innocents screams out -- STOP. I a Jew, have honed my politics at a young age based on the Holocaust. Hitler was the poster boy for extreme right wing politics so as a young person trying to decide where I fit on the political spectrum I knew that the right wing was not for me. Those on the right are missing something. They are missing humanitarian ideals. They are missing empathy. My own Jewish people who suffered so much for thousands of years are now killing indiscriminately innocents in hospitals and schools.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I have had to come to the conclusion that October 7th and the wholesale slaughter of Jews by Hamas allowed me to become something that I never was, sanctioning inhumane behavior by my own people. After Oct. 7 Israelis said if they do this to me I will do worse to them. I felt proud that Jews fight back. Now, though, I think their pound of flesh has been realized. I have been using Oct. 7 to sanction behavior of my people who are allowing the most heinous barbaric retaliation that equals if not surpasses Hamas' October 7 unconscionable sickening attack that stunned the minds of Jews and non Jews alike. This slaughter MUST stop. The Hamas violence must stop and the attack on Gaza must stop as well. The Gaza assault is a travesty that insults the Holocaust and Jews whose lives lie in graves by the millions in what was once Fascist Europe.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> I do not like writing this and have thought long and hard as to what I would write. I love Israel but maybe I love Israel so much that I cannot admit their acts would mirror acts by Hamas. Am I glad the Jewish people are strong? Yes, I am glad of that. But, enough is enough. The killing by Hamas and Israelis too must stop. It is in no one's interest to continue the bloodbath. A two state solution is the only way.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">If there is a God surely He would not sanction this tortuous barbaric massacre. Surely He would say No, never again not anymore!</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">**Postscript: There is no or scant proof of weapons sought below by the IDF. Nor is there any proof of the Israeli hostages. If they are found and if the Hamas weaponry are found below I reserve the right to change my opinion.</div></div></span></div></div></div></div></div><div><div class="x168nmei x13lgxp2 x30kzoy x9jhf4c x6ikm8r x10wlt62" data-visualcompletion="ignore-dynamic"><div><div><div><div class="xq8finb x16n37ib x1fqkajt x1aj7aux x1axty5n x1uuop16"><div class="x9f619 x1n2onr6 x1ja2u2z x78zum5 x2lah0s x1qughib x1qjc9v5 xozqiw3 x1q0g3np x150jy0e x1e558r4 xjkvuk6 x1iorvi4 xwrv7xz x8182xy x4cne27 xifccgj"><div class="x9f619 x1n2onr6 x1ja2u2z x78zum5 xdt5ytf x193iq5w xeuugli x1r8uery x1iyjqo2 xs83m0k xg83lxy x1h0ha7o x10b6aqq x1yrsyyn"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="x9f619 x1n2onr6 x1ja2u2z x78zum5 xdt5ytf x193iq5w xeuugli x1r8uery x1iyjqo2 xs83m0k xg83lxy x1h0ha7o x10b6aqq x1yrsyyn"></div><div class="x9f619 x1n2onr6 x1ja2u2z x78zum5 xdt5ytf x193iq5w xeuugli x1r8uery x1iyjqo2 xs83m0k xg83lxy x1h0ha7o x10b6aqq x1yrsyyn"></div><div class="x8cjs6t x1ch86jh x80vd3b xckqwgs x1ejq31n xu3j5b3 x1q0q8m5 x26u7qi x178xt8z xm81vs4 xso031l xy80clv x1d52u69 xktsk01"></div><div class="x1n2onr6 x1ja2u2z x9f619 x78zum5 xdt5ytf x2lah0s x193iq5w x1xmf6yo x1e56ztr"><div class="x9f619 x1n2onr6 x1ja2u2z x78zum5 xdt5ytf x1iyjqo2 x2lwn1j"><div class="x9f619 x1n2onr6 x1ja2u2z x78zum5 xdt5ytf x2lah0s x193iq5w x1swvt13 x1pi30zi"><div><div class="x78zum5 x1q0g3np x1a2a7pz"><div class="xqcrz7y x14yjl9h xudhj91 x18nykt9 xww2gxu x1lliihq x1w0mnb xr9ek0c x1n2onr6"></div></div></div></div></div></div><div aria-label="Write a comment…" class="xzsf02u x1a2a7pz x1n2onr6 x14wi4xw notranslate" contenteditable="true" data-lexical-editor="true" role="textbox" spellcheck="true" style="user-select: text; white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: break-word;" tabindex="0"><p class="xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r"><br /><br /></p></div>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-5355982058082716212023-06-20T20:29:00.003-04:002023-06-20T20:29:57.297-04:00The Fire of fear<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">
<span>I cannot advocate strongly enough for Rachel Maddow's podcasts
linked below. The First one: "Ultra" and the second one "DeJa News" are
brilliant to say the least. We who are politically under the freedom
umbrella of Democracy should be able to avail ourselves of historical
periods that mirror the troublesome moment we find ourselves in today.
Democracy is threatened but we've been here before and democracy
survived.</span><br /><br /><span>If one listens to these podcasts one will
learn that we have experienced similar events at different historical
time periods and we navigated those choppy waters not succumbing to a
take down of Democracy, though, the evil forces in our nation surely
tried and are still trying very hard to do achieve that. </span><br /><br /><span>Again,
today Fascism rears its ugly head. The troublesome Donald Trump and
his many allies of evil you will see a repeat performance yet again
trying hard to build up allies within the Republican Party all over our
nation and, indeed, the world. If one Googles "Ultra" and after you
finished its episodes then Google "Deja News" you will listen to
Rachel's uncanny ability to put out the fire of fear by showing us much
of what this nation finds itself now has been tried by different
historical players before without losing Democracy.</span><br /><br /><span>As
she and her producer Issac-Davy Aronson narrate "Deja News," these
podcasts will give one new eyes to see that our political predicament is
not new and give us the courage to do battle with its ugly forces yet
again.</span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span><br /></span> </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><i>https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-presents-ultra</i></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><i>https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rachel-maddow-presents-d%C3%A9j%C3%A0-news/id1690932739</i></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></div><p> </p>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-43448662038225087192023-06-10T16:00:00.001-04:002023-12-27T12:48:52.945-05:00I smile and I worry<p><span>When the
indictments came through against Trump with 37 counts levied against
him, when I read 3/4 of the indictment with some pages to go, when I saw
the scrupulously ironclad case Jack Smith has woven and the
incontrovertible evidence against Trump's handling of the most sensitive
top secret classified documents that were not his to take and held
helter skelter at Trump's summer place Mar a Lago, I still managed to
smile. Finally, I plaintively asked, would Teflon Don be made to answer
for his lifetime of many unethical, unconscionable grifts and acts? <br /></span></p><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">There
are no words to accurately describe my incredulity at his cavalier
treatment of cartons of documents that would have had the worst life
consequences if they fell into the hands of adversaries. There are no
words to describe the fear I felt when I realized how many human beings
could have been killed because of the actions of Trump, a former
president. We have no idea how many people could have been hurt because
of Trump's actions. How many of this nation's longtime allies could
have been horribly affected by the frivolity with which Trump treated
these secret and sometimes top secret documents with revelations of
military battle plans, maps and the most secret nuclear plans. </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span>My
smile turns to worry. I worry about the violence that is attached to
right wing fascist authoritarian politics, I worry about the Judge
Aileen Cannon appointed by Trump, whose ruling for Trump was rejected by
an Appeals Court panel, most of all I worry about the millions who put
him in office and worry about the millions who steadfastly cling to him
despite the solid Special Counsel evidence against Trump. The worse it
gets for Trump the more money he makes. He gains support each time he
is indicted or has bad news levied against him. I worry, too, that
despite the many millions spent in carefully arguing the case for
conviction, this poisonous Teflon snake named Trump might never be
stopped. My worry will not subside, I fear, unless and until he is
fairly convicted by the very system which he so rudely attacks. I hope
fervently that he loses every appeal his hapless attorneys mount.<br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /><span>
What is left for we the people to do in the interim whether he is
acquitted or hopefully ultimately jailed? We must ensure after the
hopeful conviction of this dangerous man that we never retreat from
pursuing true authoritarian fascists in our country and in other nations
so that they do not live again in other forms. When this malignant era
of Trumpian politics is over we must ensure it never again envelops the
world as new fascists are born in Trump's image. Moral and ethical
people of all races and colors must make sure Adolph Hitler's ghost does
not rise again in other forms and we must ensure other concentration
camps are not created yet again. <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></div><span>Finally,
it is, I think, appropriate now in the face of those who work mightily
to erase civil liberties, free thought and the other to quote the German
poet Heinrich Heine in his work <i>Almansor</i>. "Where people burn books</span><i> </i>they will ultimately burn men as well" to which I must answer Never Again!<p> </p>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-51127425979725142382023-05-01T17:27:00.002-04:002023-05-01T17:27:57.825-04:00As I see it: Banking failure of First Republic<p> <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto" lang="en"> </span></p><p><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto" lang="en"> </span><span dir="auto" lang="en"></span></p><div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;">An
admission: Economics is not my strong suit. With that out of the way I
still think I and everyone else too can have an opinion even on things
in which they are not expert. The latest Vesuvian eruption to send out
the messenger of fear into the body politic is today's announcement of
the First Republic Bank's collapse. This bank was rated one of
America's best banks months before. If we measure bank failures by the
1929 Great Depression yardstick it catapults us into a depressive state
of fear and anxiety. Nothing so far has reached the devastating
depressive effect of 1929. Still, it does not mean that when the
economic waves of insecurity strike in the form of bank failures that we
should not worry at all. The failure of First Republic Bank still
wreaks havoc with some of the ships at sea. After all, it was not that
long ago that the 2008 economic collapse concerned me and many others
too. Banks were overextended then, to say the least, in handing out a
plethora of bad mortgages which the buyers could not repay. <br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;">Why
is this happening? Why can we never be 100% secure that the banks are
monitored to within an inch of their life so that they will never
overextend themselves again to ensure we will no longer get a surprise
that banks were slovenly over extended and that First Republic Bank's
slipshod bookkeeping could not be at fault because the Federal
government took care of that in 2008 so that this nation never again
would have faulty unbalanced ledger sheets. Think again. </span></div></div><div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: large;">The
great ideological divide is that conservatives are loath to government
intervention of, well, nearly everything especially things financial but
progressives since FDR think in certain very threatening occurrences
the government should and must come to the rescue. I believe there is a
place for government when self monitoring fails. <br /></span></div></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto" lang="en"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto" lang="en">Coupled
with Republican intransigence of raising the debt ceiling that could
catapult the US into the thicket of economic ruin the times are
worrisome. Jaime Diamond, the CEO of J.P Morgan Trust, bought out First
Republic. He said the nation's banking system is solid. Should we take
his word for it? As I see it, I think not.</span></span></p>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-22685637327325299052023-04-12T12:25:00.001-04:002023-04-12T12:25:25.507-04:00My Letter to Rachel Maddow and cc to Governor Maura Healtey<p> </p><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I applaud you yet
again for a superlative interview of Governor Maura Healy. I am indeed
proud to be from the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts, voted for Governor
Healey and will do so again. Both you and governor Healey are
articulately brilliant. Thanks for having the governor on and hope we
can hear from her again. Of course, I support both of your positions on
abortion and support your position on guns as well. I am saddened by
the usurpation of the Republican Party by radical right wing extremists
and hope Democrats can gain control of both the Federal House while keeping the Senate and take a
majority of the seats in state government as well. <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Keep
doing what you do, Rachel. You are the Edward R. Murrow of
broadcasting. Although I like all the commentators on MSNBC and watch
them all I miss seeing more of you during the week. </span><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></div>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-12682278981094727512023-03-07T16:33:00.001-05:002023-03-07T16:33:10.779-05:00Separate and, in fact, not equal--an email to Rachel Maddow<p> <br /></p><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;">Rachel, I cannot thank you enough for reporting on the death of Judy Heumann, a wheelchair bound advocate for <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;">the
rights of the disabled who suffered from polio she caught in1948. As a
survivor of polio in 1954, six months before the Salk vaccine, I
appreciate every day what her efforts mean to me. I can drive and find
a closer parking space and/or a ramp that makes it easier for a
disabled person to enter a building which must be navigated.</span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;">Polio paralyzed my right leg entirely up to and including my hip. I am 74 and now realize the difficult impact of losing</span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;">entirely
the use of that leg. I am at risk of falling and have broken my right
leg femur three times because of it. I cannot fracture it again.
Thanks to Judy Heumann for making my life and countless others in this
nation and even the world just a little bit easier. <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;">Moreover,
we must eradicate the separate but equal concept not only for the
handicapped but we need, of course, to eradicate it for every other
minority group that still suffers from its paralyzing effect. <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;">Keep
fighting the good fight, Rachel, for all the other minority groups in
our land. Let us make the "John Lewis Voting Right Act" the law of the
land once again this time permanently because separate, in fact, never
means equal. <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"> <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /></div>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-62595754312325528982022-12-05T16:21:00.003-05:002022-12-05T16:21:47.554-05:00The truth of antisemitism<p> <span>I have numerous thoughts regarding the proliferation of
antisemitism and hate in our nation and around the world. I have not
posted anything about the recent spate of antisemitism as it relates to
the Trump candidacy until now. Anti Jewish hate is a subject on which I
have strong opinions so much so that I wanted to carefully compose the
essence of my thoughts on it because in sum it taps into the core of my
being. I want to make an explanation of it clear and and most
importantly correct and true. Because racial hate exists on the
political right I positioned myself politically to the left.</span><br /><br /><span>I
once saw a film entitled "The Longest Hatred." I thought it encompassed
much about the long history of antisemitism, its reoccurring theme in
the world and, most particularly, in this country because the mantel on
which it rests is contrary to what the United States of America is all
about. I will post a link to the "Longest Hatred'' at the bottom of my
written thoughts. Full disclosure I am Jewish as were all my ancestors
who resided in Europe, Eastern Europe and in America too. </span><br /><br /><span>I
was first introduced to the malevolent hatred of the Jews as a young
child. I asked questions such as why do they hate us. My mother
answered by saying things like "they are jealous of us." Jealous of
what, I remember I asked? I observed it and heard accusations about it
as a young adult continuing into my adult years where I could more fully
grasp and have an understanding of the historicity of it. I was
repeatedly told the Jews killed Christ.</span><br /><br /><span>Antisemitism
spans centuries beginning 2000 years ago and intertwined first with the
alleged rejection of Christ, the Christian son of god, by the Jews and
his tortuous death by the Roman occupiers of Palestine. Antisemitism
runs deep within the psyche of Christians and its onslaught of hate and
ultimate slaughtering of 6 million human beings historically named the
Holocaust. How does something so huge exist perpetrated by the most
learned nation in the western world, Germany. For its evidence one need
to historically account for such a thing as the Germans, known for
their pristine record keeping kept a tally of the number of Jews killed
which jived with the philosophical underpinnings of Nazism itself.
Moreover, if one reads the German leader Hitler's book "Mein Kampf" (My
Struggle) for its rationale to make the world in the </span><br /><br /></p><div style="margin-left: 120px;"><span>"Aryanization:
Judenrein & Judenfrei Holocaust Glossary: Terms, Places, and
Personalities."Judenfrei or cleansed of Jews to designate an area free
of Jewish presence during The Holocaust. While Judenfrei merely to
"freeing" an area of all of its Jewish citizens, the term Judenrein
(literally "clean of Jews") was also used. This had the stronger
connotation that any trace of Jewish blood had been removed as an
impurity." </span><br /></div><br /><div><div><div><div><span>There is
sufficient evidence to prove imprisoning and killing Jews was a Nazi
goal. Other nations surrounding Germany may have hated German
occupation but some were thrilled with their policy of Jew eradication
and waved hands saying "goo<span class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"></span>dbye Jews."</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><span>The
history of antisemitism is saturated with evidence that it occurred
blasting Holocaust denial into oblivion. No matter how many antisemites
choose to deny the existence of the Holocaust there is sufficient
evidence to treat that mendacious view as a vicious lie and blast it
into the ash heap of history. Curiously often they both deny it and
approve of it.</span><br /><br /><span>Trump has zero ethics and will use
that which he thinks gives him power. He allies himself with his
moronic antisemites because it is a group which he can milk for
political support and does so all the time despite his own daughter's
Jewish conversion, her Jewish husband and their children considered Jews
by birth. </span><br /><br /><span>I could relate hundreds of antisemitic
views including in my own life a neighbor telling me that the "Jews
killed Christ" and another time a work compatriot told me she "Jewed
someone down" to get a better price on something she purchased. When
the Holocaust was on TV showing the horrific internment of Jews in an
array of concentration camps another woman at work told me "See that's
what you get for killing one of your own." By the way Jews never would
use crucifixion as an instrument of death but the Romans gladly used it
to show others what would befall them as they walked up a hill near the
crosses as admonition if they went against Rome.</span><br /><br /><span> Trump
induced antisemitism is currently popular and it is a part of fascistic
movements all over the world. The truth that antisemitism exists
cannot be denied but the content of it is and always has been saturated
with lies. It must be called out for what it is man's proclivity to
designate the "other" for eradication and spread those lies about them
all over the world. We must call antisemitism out as lies when we hear
or see it. Silence is an affirmation of it and a way to spread its ugly
message far and wide. </span><br /><br /><br /></div></div></div>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-26349820163425828732022-10-20T16:10:00.004-04:002022-10-20T16:11:52.809-04:00The Other<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">When writing an opinion I often fret that either I do not have any idea about which to write or that I will do so in a way that is not true and subject myself</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">to many authoritative critiques. When I hear something that is so true and not explained by me then I decide to publish the crafty thought and give credit where credit is due.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">Yesterday, Alex Wagner, political commentator on MSNBC, interviewed Trevor Noah, political commentator and host of the Trevor Noah Show on Comedy Central. <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">The conversation in which the two were engaged centered around the dramatic split many see within the US polity and many wonder why the political milieu has been so toxic. In other words, why is so much hate and invective spewed by a nation which prides itself on its concept of equality and justice? Why so much of it centers on the "Other." The <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">"Other" in the present case is anyone who is a minority and has suffered violence or verbal attack for many years. Invective by the majority is couched in a variety of rationales so that one can see it clearly and ultimately understand and accept the rationales for it whether it is true or not.<br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">Trevor Noah explained it as such: "When people are struggling and in poverty (or not) they are told that the reason for their social distemper is certainly in the <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">person of the "Other." The "Other," of course, can be defined as black people, brown people, immigrants, gays, Jews and anyone else who does not fit into the descriptive narration of the majority, and who does not look like you, does not pray like you, does not culturally blend in like you but is rather in a minority. <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">Even when blame for social malevolence is assessed not to be because of the "Other," Noah stated, the "Other" is still a convenient scapegoat especially when it has <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">been blanketed in virulent appellations of hatred for thousands of years.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">Someone once said to me "when books are burned It is logical then that men will be burned too. The right wing extremists have pronounced the Jews, the longest hatred, of course, have collectively suffered the mortal consequences of being called a killer of God by the majority. If one is a killer of God then what does that mean? It means overthrowing all that is considered good and righteous and thus requires the ultimate penalty of death. <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">One's mind travels to the Holocaust where Germans rounded up all the Jews they could and annihilated them in the amount of 6 million, an unfathomable number. The Germans wanted to kill all the Jews of Europe and nearly did and most of the majority acquiesced, it is said, yelling "Goodbye Jews." <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">What are we to do with the perpetrators of the Holocaust? Is it enough to lash back in anger? Is it enough to punish them? Is it enough to win a war? The only answer I fear is to say Never Again. That is the best, I think, rational men can do. But you say it already is happening in Ukraine by the Russians that innocents are being slaughtered. It is already happening here as so many are vilified because of the color of their skin and totalitarian inherently unjust Fascism is knocking at our door. If we shirk our duty then we can be assured that the ugliness <i>will </i>happen again and that it very well could happen to you!<br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><p> </p>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-63945069465538856772022-10-10T20:30:00.001-04:002022-10-10T20:30:43.573-04:00Rachel Maddow has been hard at work as she said she would be.<p> </p><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">On
January 6, 2021 in our country there was, as most know, a nefariously
violent attempt at the Capitol by right wing fascist-like plotters such
as the Proud Boys, Oathkeepers and others to overthrow our Democracy,
overturn a fair election and negate the freedoms attendant to it. At
the same time they, and most important to the plot, would place at the
apex of political power the twice impeached one time president Donald J.
Trump, to illegally secure for him the reins of forever power. A nice
gig if you can get it!<br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">We
know the 9:00 p.m. broadcast on MSNBC of the Rachel Maddow Show was
shortened, to my dismay, to a once a week Monday broadcast of her show
because, she said, she wanted to apply her storytelling craft and
historical expertise to other entertainment venues both nonfiction and
fiction alike. She is presenting to us in podcast form a work entitled
"Ultra" -- Episodes 1 and 2 which are available for streaming today.
It is called "Ultra", I think, because the podcast deals with a plot by <i>ultra</i> rightwing extremists to overthrow a duly elected government. Sound familiar?<br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">Rachel
Maddow's podcast Episode 1 and 2 out today is a historical narration of
a time in the 1940s not unlike our own where totalitarian groups
plotted to overthrow the nation's democracy and install, in Hitler-like
fashion, a strong rightwing
extremist
leader who would be president for life. <br /></div><br /><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">The
crudeness of the action by rightwing extremists on January 6, cannot be
overstated. The damage to the Capitol -- the premier symbol of our
Democracy --, offices of the House Speaker defiled not to mention even
defecation on the premises were incredulously observed.<br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">I have pasted the link to "Ultra" Episode 1 and 2 below for your enjoyment and entertainment (it <i><b>will </b></i>entertain
you) or I have pasted the link below for your historical edification to
try to ensure at the precipice of our 2022 very important midterm
elections, that this attempt by Facist-like extremists be roundly
subverted and our system of government saved. If we go back to business
as usual it is certain, I believe, that the violent attempt on January
6, 2021 will happen again. <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><i>PLEASE VOTE AND VOTE DEMOCRAT UP AND DOWN THE TICKET.</i></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><i>
FEEL FREE TO SEND THIS IN ITS ENTIRETY TO ANYONE YOU CHOOSE!!
</i></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-presents-ultra&source=gmail&ust=1665524825084000&usg=AOvVaw1EPjDc6zS0cDH6DMk-2vWS" href="https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-presents-ultra" id="m_4467407403516638052m_8186367323996267722LPlnk809851" target="_blank">https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-<wbr></wbr>maddow-presents-ultra</a></div><div class="yj6qo"></div><div class="gmail_default adL" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</div></div>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-79594137371018899702022-09-17T20:26:00.001-04:002022-09-17T20:26:24.022-04:00"But let justice flow like water, and righteousness, like an unfailing stream.” Amos 5:6 -- INVESTIGATION TRACKER OF DONALD J. TRUMP<div style="color: white; font-size: 0; height: 0; left: 30%; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 30%; width: 0; z-index: -9;"><form action="?ui=html&zy=s" id="null" method="post"></form></div><div aria-atomic="true" aria-live="assertive" style="height: 1px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: -1000px;"> </div><div aria-atomic="true" aria-live="polite" style="height: 1px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: -1000px;">Conversation opened. 1 unread message.</div><div class="AO"><div class="Tm aeJ" id=":3" style="height: 758px;"><div class="aeF" id=":1" style="min-height: 568px;"><div class="nH"><div class="nH" role="main"><div class="nH g id"><table cellpadding="0" class="Bs nH iY bAt" role="presentation"><tbody><tr class="aTN"><td class="Bu bAn">Scroll Down</td><td class="Bu bAn"><br /></td><td class="Bu bAn"><br /></td><td class="Bu bAn"><br /></td><td class="Bu bAn"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="nH V8djrc byY"><div class="nH"><div class="ha"><h2 class="hP" data-legacy-thread-id="1834de5a8b081046" data-thread-perm-id="thread-a:r-3500436739269566995" id=":798" tabindex="-1">But let justice flow like water, and righteousness, like an unfailing
stream.” Amos 5:6 -- INVESTIGATION TRACKER OF DONALD J. TRUMP</h2><span class="J-J5-Ji" id=":797"><div aria-label="Important mainly because it was sent directly to you." class="pG" data-tooltip-align="b,l" data-tooltip-contained="true" data-tooltip-delay="1500" id=":794" role="img"><div class="pH a9q" tabindex="0"></div><div class="bnj "></div></div><div class="ahR"><div aria-label="Inbox" class="hN" data-tooltip="Search for all messages with label Inbox" name="^i" role="button" style="background-color: #dddddd; color: #666666;" tabindex="0">Inbox</div><div aria-label="Remove label" class="hO" data-tooltip="Remove label Inbox from this conversation" name="^i" role="button" style="background-color: #dddddd; color: #666666;" tabindex="0"></div></div></span></div><div class="dJ"></div></div></div><table cellpadding="0" class="cf gJ"><tbody><tr class="acZ"><td class="gH"><br /></td><td class="gH acX bAm" rowspan="2"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" class="cf gJ"><tbody><tr class="acZ xD"></tr></tbody></table><div class="gE iv gt"></div><table cellpadding="0" class="cf gJ"><tbody><tr class="acZ xD"><td colspan="3"><table cellpadding="0" class="cf adz"><tbody><tr><td class="ady"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">Trump investigation tracker: Up-to-date status reports on where each investigation stands <div><p> Grid is here to help you follow the multiple investigations underway.</p><div><div><span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.grid.news/author/steve-reilly/&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw0S_UB9wL7cJBET5NN-DyYY" href="https://www.grid.news/author/steve-reilly/" target="_blank">Steve Reilly</a><span>, Investigative Reporter</span><span>, </span></span><span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.grid.news/author/matt-stiles/&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw0P1HCC410B8EVzPsWw7oVf" href="https://www.grid.news/author/matt-stiles/" target="_blank">Matt Stiles</a><span>, Senior Data Visualization Reporter</span><span>, </span><span>and </span></span><span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.grid.news/author/leah-askarinam/&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw3fzrp_ayAgdbR97FtcIMzI" href="https://www.grid.news/author/leah-askarinam/" target="_blank">Leah Askarinam</a><span>, Politics Editor</span></span></div><div><div><span>September 9, 2022</span></div></div></div></div><div><div><p>Since
leaving office in January 2021, former president Donald Trump has been
mired in legal difficulties, with a sprawling array of investigations
probing his activities in office, his business and his private life.</p><p>These
legal entanglements threaten to derail Trump’s ambitions to run for
president in 2024. Outside of politics, they could also cost him
millions or lead to indictments on charges that carry lengthy prison
sentences.</p><p>Developments
in the civil, federal and fact-finding investigations spanning from New
York to Florida have come at a rapid pace in the form of Justice
Department filings, state and local government disclosures, and media
reports. Grid has sorted and summarized those developments in a live
tracker that will be updated as long as these investigations continue.</p><p>Here
is a look at the major ongoing investigations involving Trump, along
with news coverage tracking the latest significant developments.</p><h3>The Department of Justice investigation into government records stored at Mar-a-Lago</h3><span><img class="CToWUd a6T" data-bit="iit" height="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgJPjwxAy6uf3suieY9bCqia2J6R0ne9PTsg7v9UQH79bTS1_RN6hBXpr9xHnsAdKC_p2mqobAKmnYO5zIDkKcTXia7CYigRar9bYZwGIes4M4xdWCwvduACr1NsYG_0Xw_X4AMQhGNnfq85bXWGdUy-kIxLWZT3kSRp60Ulo12mSHKrZeoZBYG49sat98XZ6KHH6KhZwcQa4NuHgJvamuLbBnb5-H8L7FVX40Z6WhHE9qTpUbS3PRSxpf1AcXsDXgvzP-bdbHOPM7zOGz0RDRfldMi53S4LmwZcOIot4CUhWsIfaKWSqn9MmNQMTtKUcL-zw9D4uE=s0-d-e1-ft(jpg):quality(100)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/thesummit/NVZLG5VVUJAHTJNYMQ5S24X7RM.jpg" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%;" tabindex="0" width="1440" /></span></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span>The Department of Justice released a photo of classified documents seized from Trump's office at Mar-a-Lago. </span>(Department of Justice)</p><p><b>Investigation type:</b> Criminal</p><p><b>Jurisdiction:</b> Federal</p><p><b>What is under investigation: </b>On
Aug. 8, federal authorities executed a search warrant on Trump’s
Florida resort as part of an ongoing criminal investigation of the
storage of classified records and other sensitive documents at
Mar-a-Lago. The <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2022/08/12/the-fbis-trump-search-warrant-for-mar-a-lago-has-been-unsealed-heres-whats-in-it/&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw3I1_1vfMUC3Z6VjXuOClcg" href="https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2022/08/12/the-fbis-trump-search-warrant-for-mar-a-lago-has-been-unsealed-heres-whats-in-it/" target="_blank">search warrant</a> and a warrant <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2022/08/26/trump-mar-a-lago-affidavit-takeaways-unsecure-top-secret-records-and-possible-obstruction/&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw0iMKHKz9921GHSmDsZnLqj" href="https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2022/08/26/trump-mar-a-lago-affidavit-takeaways-unsecure-top-secret-records-and-possible-obstruction/" target="_blank">affidavit</a>
were unsealed in federal court in late August, revealing that federal
investigators had been authorized to seize all physical documents and
records located at the property “illegally possessed in violation of”
three different criminal laws, including a portion of the Espionage Act.
In addition to classified and top secret documents, the affidavit
states: “There is also probable cause to believe that evidence of
obstruction will be found at the premises.”</p><p><b>Why it matters:</b>
Trump has not been accused of a crime in the matter, and the search
warrant and affidavit do not amount to a formal accusation. However, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2022/08/12/the-fbis-trump-search-warrant-for-mar-a-lago-has-been-unsealed-heres-whats-in-it/&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw3I1_1vfMUC3Z6VjXuOClcg" href="https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2022/08/12/the-fbis-trump-search-warrant-for-mar-a-lago-has-been-unsealed-heres-whats-in-it/" target="_blank">the three potential crimes</a><b> </b>being investigated carry lengthy prison sentences.</p><div><div><p id="m_6700485163534782845gmail-responsive-embed-trump-investigations-maralago-20220829"></p> </div> </div><h3>The Fulton County district attorney’s investigation into electoral interference in Georgia</h3><span><img class="CToWUd a6T" data-bit="iit" height="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjs14u4IxVhdCr3_a9XQNNqm03RMNrAt5rnxR1oU-ujSpqfs7_cLEJZe3E8xiQwVHEFFymA8yvHsyHHlMWle8T1mUrbusN6RdQxw6oblNdORJHQixhWRHF0mzlA7UP7qIygaiEcSw3yZ2PeA4dDGgdSilvgxIemSKoL9YtZsf0gPZNmbxPCPI8POubhGN1kxkEf2t-A0wrSrxCL3T9ru0RvpfsWnhrX394wNHohIfz0KwF_dD2xaiVhUpji3FdZqjEEIHnW8-CC7KZ-irIRS_5If-Cgc1DmCa9hM12k_qQIEreE6p6004ZWn5EOYrZJE2gz03FEp0U=s0-d-e1-ft(jpg):quality(100)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/thesummit/LG7RRLGZQJDYLBI3WBVOXKAKHE.jpg" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%;" tabindex="0" width="1440" /></span><div class="adn ads" data-legacy-message-id="1834df49b8c9efb0" data-message-id="#msg-a:r5882189525557049448"><div class="gs"><div class=""><div class="ii gt" id=":78l"><div class="a3s aiL " id=":78m"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><div><div><p><span>Voters line up for the first day of early voting outside of the High Museum polling station on Dec. 14, 2020, in Atlanta. </span>(Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)</p><p><b>Investigation type: </b>Criminal</p><div><p></p><div><div id="m_6700485163534782845gmail-gridnews_standard_article_incontent_1"></div></div></div><p><b>Jurisdiction:</b> State</p><p><b>What is under investigation:</b>
In early 2021, Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis
opened an investigation of Trump’s alleged efforts to sway the election
results in Georgia, including <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.npr.org/2021/01/03/953012128/this-was-a-scam-in-recorded-call-trump-pushed-official-to-overturn-georgia-vote&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw1vJcmg3hBG1sbEuBrrVHw6" href="https://www.npr.org/2021/01/03/953012128/this-was-a-scam-in-recorded-call-trump-pushed-official-to-overturn-georgia-vote" target="_blank">a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call</a>
with state Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump said he
wanted to “find” enough votes to make up for his margin of defeat.
Willis in January requested a special grand jury with investigative
power, and in July a judge approved the grand jury’s subpoenas for Trump
lawyers Kenneth Chesebro, John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, Rudy Giuliani and
Cleta Mitchell, along with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who also made
postelection calls to Georgia election officials.</p><p><b>Why it matters:</b> Solicitation of election fraud is a crime in Georgia, and <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2022/07/11/a-list-of-crimes-legal-experts-say-trump-may-have-committed-related-to-jan-6-and-the-2020-election/&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw0n5u_LLHJgcYfiaJeYGZ5E" href="https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2022/07/11/a-list-of-crimes-legal-experts-say-trump-may-have-committed-related-to-jan-6-and-the-2020-election/" target="_blank">legal experts told Grid</a>
that Trump may have violated state law. The Fulton County district
attorney’s investigation has developed at a rapid pace this year and
could ultimately lead to criminal charges against Trump or his allies.</p><div><div><p id="m_6700485163534782845gmail-responsive-embed-trump-investigations-georgia-20220829"></p> </div>
</div><h3>The House select committee’s investigation of the Jan. 6 attack</h3><span></span><p><span>Rep.
Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chair of the Select Committee to Investigate
the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, and Vice Chairwoman Rep.
Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) preside over a committee hearing on June 9 in
Washington, D.C. </span>(Win McNamee/Getty Images)</p><p><b>Investigation type:</b> Congressional fact-finding</p><p><b>Jurisdiction:</b> Federal</p><div><p></p><div><div id="m_6700485163534782845gmail-gridnews_standard_article_incontent_3"></div></div></div><p><b>What is under investigation:</b>
Since July 2021, the House Select Committee to Investigate the January
6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol has been probing efforts by Trump and his
allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. At
the committee’s <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2022/06/10/did-the-jan-6-committee-make-its-case/&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw0cWylUZPCERI-fTlpdUEPW" href="https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2022/06/10/did-the-jan-6-committee-make-its-case/" target="_blank">first public hearing in June</a>,
its chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said the committee’s work had
uncovered “a sprawling multistep conspiracy aimed at overturning the
presidential election” and that “Donald Trump was at the center of this
conspiracy.” The committee has since received additional information and
is expected to hold additional public hearings this year.</p><p><b>Why it matters:</b>
The Jan. 6 committee does not have the power to bring charges, but it
can make referrals to other agencies and can uncover facts that prompt
further investigation by law enforcement. Committee members have <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2022/08/18/liz-cheney-lost-and-the-gop-looks-poised-to-take-the-house-what-does-that-mean-for-the-jan-6-committee/&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw1-g_bce3xIcOH_8QEE7CB4" href="https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2022/08/18/liz-cheney-lost-and-the-gop-looks-poised-to-take-the-house-what-does-that-mean-for-the-jan-6-committee/" target="_blank">signaled an intent to deliver a final report by the end of the year</a>, and the committee’s authorizing resolution specifies that it will terminate within 30 days of issuing that report.</p><div><div><p id="m_6700485163534782845gmail-responsive-embed-trump-investigations-jan6thcommittee-20220829"></p> </div>
</div><h3>The Department of Justice investigation into the Jan. 6 attack</h3><span></span><p><span></span></p><p><b>Investigation type:</b> Criminal</p><p><b>Jurisdiction:</b> Federal</p><p><b>What is under investigation:</b> The federal investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the Capitol Building has so far led to <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/19-months-jan-6-attack-capitol&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw2xafPgWt0Kucf1i2yB2BKn" href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/19-months-jan-6-attack-capitol" target="_blank">more than 800 </a>arrests. By March, the federal investigation into the insurrection had <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/us/politics/justice-dept-widens-jan-6-inquiry.html&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw0IAE8yYSLTcpw9vf-9wVFh" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/us/politics/justice-dept-widens-jan-6-inquiry.html" target="_blank">reportedly</a> <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/07/26/trump-justice-investigation-january-6/&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw035UWD5ng4FsQTwKpTOzAn" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/07/26/trump-justice-investigation-january-6/" target="_blank">broadened</a>
to include actions by former government officials, including Trump,
involved in orchestrating the “Stop the Steal” rally that precipitated
the attack. Justice Department prosecutors <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/26/us/politics/trump-jan-6-justice-department.html&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw2qxc8KhZe0V4YRovNCsGJO" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/26/us/politics/trump-jan-6-justice-department.html" target="_blank">have reportedly</a> asked witnesses about Trump’s actions in front of a federal grand jury. In early September, a federal grand jury <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/08/us/politics/trump-save-america-pac-subpoenas.html&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw1gnESqxoGHqxxpeLoz52PF" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/08/us/politics/trump-save-america-pac-subpoenas.html" target="_blank">reportedly issued</a> new subpoenas seeking information regarding Save America PAC, one of Trump’s major political fundraising vehicles.</p><div><div id="m_6700485163534782845gmail-om-jqtfq19zl7zppbvvykcw-holder"></div></div><div><div id="m_6700485163534782845gmail-om-kxcqfmda3glzmolis3qh-holder"></div><br /></div><div><div id="m_6700485163534782845gmail-om-vaxjapluux9skczn3kd4-holder"></div></div><div><div id="m_6700485163534782845gmail-om-olcijue5dngftk4vqjdu-holder"></div></div><p><b>Why it matters:</b>
Despite the prosecution and conviction of hundreds of individual
participants in the Jan. 6 attack, none of the powerful political
figures involved in the events of the day have been charged with a
crime. But one year after the attack, Attorney General Merrick Garland <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-merrick-b-garland-delivers-remarks-first-anniversary-attack-capitol&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw3z9kIMeexU0eJEHo4QGdj6" href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-merrick-b-garland-delivers-remarks-first-anniversary-attack-capitol" target="_blank">said </a>that the Justice Department “remains committed to holding all January 6th perpetrators, at any level, accountable under law.”</p><div><div><p id="m_6700485163534782845gmail-responsive-embed-trump-investigations-dojjan6th-20220829"></p> </div>
</div><h3>The New York state attorney general’s investigation into Trump’s businesses</h3><p><b>Investigation type:</b> Civil</p><p><b>Jurisdiction:</b> State</p><p><b>What is under investigation:</b> New York State Attorney General Letitia James <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-attorney-general-evidence-suggests-trump-and-company-falsely-valued-assets-11642573790&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw1RF1HO5QtGtTyFs1PfN9Zu" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-attorney-general-evidence-suggests-trump-and-company-falsely-valued-assets-11642573790" target="_blank">in early 2019</a>
began a civil investigation into the Trump Organization’s financial
practices following congressional testimony by former Trump lawyer
Michael Cohen indicating the company deflated assets in order to
decrease its taxes. Trump’s son Eric Trump was deposed in October 2020
and pleaded the Fifth Amendment <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-s-filing-cabinets-post-it-notes-new-york-ag-n1287775&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw3CCgaePeiXaaRjsCAF7FAG" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-s-filing-cabinets-post-it-notes-new-york-ag-n1287775" target="_blank">more than 500 times</a>. In August, Donald Trump was deposed in the investigation and pleaded the Fifth <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ny-investigation-testimony-a4e6264d44b194d24dfb916ffc7f51ca&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw1uWsH78_fhmfDNDVfLUJ5F" href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ny-investigation-testimony-a4e6264d44b194d24dfb916ffc7f51ca" target="_blank">more than 400 times</a>.</p><p><b>Why it matters:</b>
The New York state attorney general’s investigation could lead to a
range of outcomes for the Trump Organization, up to and including a
possible lawsuit, or even the company losing its ability to conduct
certain business operations in the state. Additionally, facts that have
come to light through the civil investigation have factored into a joint
criminal investigation with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.</p><div><p></p><div><div id="m_6700485163534782845gmail-gridnews_standard_article_incontent_4"></div></div></div><div><div><p id="m_6700485163534782845gmail-responsive-embed-trump-investigations-nyag-20220829"></p> </div>
</div><h3>New York attorney general and Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s investigation into Trump’s business dealings</h3><p><b>Investigation type:</b> Criminal</p><p><b>Jurisdiction:</b> State</p><p><b>What is under investigation:</b>
In 2020, then-Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. began an
investigation into the finances of the Trump Organization. By mid-2021,
the state attorney general’s office had joined the Manhattan district
attorney in the investigation. In July 2021, the Trump Organization and
its longtime Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg were charged in a
15-count indictment alleging they “engaged in a scheme constituting a
systematic ongoing course of conduct with intent to defraud.”
Weisselberg in August pleaded guilty to 15 felonies, many of which
related to concealing benefits in order to underreport his income.</p><p><b>Why it matters:</b>
Weisselberg is by far Trump’s longest-tenured business partner and one
of his most loyal lieutenants. He has reportedly not agreed to cooperate
with authorities in their broader investigation into Trump but <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/17/nyregion/weisselberg-trump-plea-testify.html&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw2Y9b-slTofun0i_CH9_qsV" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/17/nyregion/weisselberg-trump-plea-testify.html" target="_blank">is required as part of his plea deal</a> to testify at the Trump Organization trial scheduled to take place later this year.</p><div><div><p id="m_6700485163534782845gmail-responsive-embed-trump-investigations-nyda-20220829"></p> </div></div><p></p><div><p></p><div><div id="m_6700485163534782845gmail-gridnews_standard_article_incontent_5"></div></div></div><div><ul><li><div><div></div></div><div><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.grid.news/author/steve-reilly/&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw0S_UB9wL7cJBET5NN-DyYY" href="https://www.grid.news/author/steve-reilly/" target="_blank">Steve Reilly</a><p><i>Investigative Reporter</i></p><p>Steve Reilly is an investigative reporter for Grid focusing on threats to democracy.</p><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/BySteveReilly&source=gmail&ust=1663546632854000&usg=AOvVaw1JI0X7sBRs76bg3jF1kjtw" href="https://twitter.com/BySteveReilly" target="_blank"><i></i><span>BySteveReilly</span></a></div></li><li><div><img alt="Matt Stiles" class="CToWUd" data-bit="iit" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEid_46UvivO8RPFieF53p4SNAXn0ESQ3Q1NAHJ4ANcaO-sgfIBG3po_Mg87B1VP91ZrP75voF_6TWOI6GKBeuMOLxplSXT-_SCXhEyFD3NkwSHybpu5IB9EiB1UFFXst4T9rnC-v_uXSKj0h1gYQFEvhUzgbFUqcZz1-hB4GtBfa5t1clckEG-dMpPx-zQZadkOD1XqC4bc_kIQ_g8iOiCCStH_hStxVEbx4gV3Nai4fqArcKyESG2mBx5k5ns8cRXYvlFvrsTjg3fcPcDpt3QH4pVqGGm14NoDOghcx62zAsiLdSITjf4QhmmwbUug=s0-d-e1-ft(jpg):quality(100)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/thesummit/a75d2179-38ca-4ddf-ac6b-27bc8ac6d590.jpg" /><div></div></div><div><a 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</div></div></div><div class="hi"></div></div></div><div class="ajx"></div></div><div class="gA gt acV"><div class="gB xu"><div class="ip iq"><div id=":78k"><table class="cf wS" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="amq"><br /></td><td class="amr"><div class="nr wR"><div class="amn"></div></div><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div><div class="nH bkK"><div class="nH"><div class="nH"><div class="nH ar4 z"><div class="aeI"><div class="AO"><div class="Tm aeJ" id=":3" style="height: 758px;"><div class="aeF" id=":1" style="min-height: 568px;"><div class="nH"><div class="nH" role="main"><div class="nH g id"><table cellpadding="0" class="Bs nH iY bAt" role="presentation"><tbody><tr class="aTN"><td class="Bu bAn"><div class="nH if"><div class="nH aHU"><div class="nH hx"><div class="nH" role="list"><div aria-expanded="true" class="h7 ie nH oy8Mbf" role="listitem" tabindex="-1"><div class="Bk"><div class="G3 G2"><div><div id=":78o"><div class="gA gt acV"><div class="gB xu"><div class="ip iq"><div id=":78k"><table class="cf wS" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="amr"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="nH"></div><div class="nH"></div></div></div><div class="nH"><div class="l2 pfiaof" role="contentinfo" style="padding-bottom: 0px;"><div class="aeV" id=":78w"><div><div class="ajd"><a class="aiF" href="https://drive.google.com/u/0/settings/storage?hl=en&utm_medium=web&utm_source=gmail&utm_campaign=storage_meter&utm_content=storage_normal" target="_blank"><div class="aiC"><div class="aiA" style="width: 64%;"></div></div><div class="aiG"><div class="aiD "><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span></div><div aria-label="Follow link to manage storage" class="aiz" role="img"></div></div></a></div></div></div><div class="aeU"><div id=":78x"><div><div class="ma"><a class="l9" href="https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/terms/" target="_blank"></a><a class="l9" href="https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/" target="_blank"></a><a class="l9" href="https://www.google.com/gmail/about/policy/" target="_blank"></a></div></div></div></div><div class="ae3" id=":78z"><div><div class="l6"><div></div><span class="l8 LJOhwe" id=":78s" role="link" tabindex="0"></span></div></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div></div></div></div><br /></td><td class="Bu yM"><div class="Bt" style="width: 0px;"></div><div class="nH" style="width: 0px;"><div class="no"><div class="nH nn" style="width: 0px;"><div style="height: 64ex;"></div></div></div><div class="dJ"></div></div><br /></td><td class="Bu y3"><div class="Bt" style="width: 960px;"></div><div class="nH bno adC" role="complementary" style="position: absolute; right: 32px; top: 0px;"><div class="nH"></div></div><div class="y4" style="visibility: hidden;"></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p></p>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-43554024414333815232022-08-30T07:04:00.001-04:002022-08-30T07:04:20.971-04:00On Democracy<p> </p><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;">I
love to write. I think about the subject of my efforts long and hard
before I write. Sometimes it does not come easily to me but
listening to Ali Velshi yesterday morning on MSNBC (a channel which occupies 9/10ths of
my time) culminated in a light bulb moment. I figured out what was going to be the
subject of my next effort. <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;">Ali Velshi's soliloquy on Democracy after
covering the war-torn Ukraine was extemporaneously brillant. He
delivered with perfection his profound thoughts on the brutality of war against a totalitarian Russian bully, Putin, and at the
same time gave me the subject of my next piece. It will be entitled <i>On Democracy. </i>Thank
you, Ali Velshi, for delivering one of the most profound rationales for
Democracy I have ever had the privilege to hear and why the struggle to
maintain our democracy is so costly but ever-so necessary. <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;">Thank
you
again, Ali Velshi. I will dedicate my next piece to you and, as always,
continue to watch MSNBC because it has the best news coverage,
commentary and communicatively conveys, by far, the best and most
profoundly humane
political thought of any other news programming station. Your profound
thoughts on Democracy moved me to tears! <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;"><br />On Democracy<br /></div></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;">I
spent two days last week viewing historical documentaries on Netflix --
one was entitled "Pearl Harbor." I know the historicity of Pearl
Harbor. If I know it so well why does it make me cry everytime I view
it and everytime I hear our National Anthem when viewing it? I cry when
I see the dismemberment of our entire Pacific fleet, the bravery of our
men and women in uniform, and their horrific injuries by the surprise
attack on the US at the hands of the Empire of Japan on December 7,
1941. Those in the military risk their lives so that our Democracy and
we live. Especially during WWII that remained clear.<br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;">Japan
was celebrating the efficacy of the attack and bestowing
congratulations on the Japanese officers who led it. Another Japanese
officer said he was not so ebulent. He said "I think we have awoken a
sleeping giant." He was, of course, correct. The attack ensured the
United States would enter the war and thousands if not millions signed
up to do so.
On December 8, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt asked a Joint
Session of Congress to declare war against Germany and Italy and against
the Empire of Japan in response to the
surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. "In his remarks, the president assured
Members of Congress and the American people, “With confidence in our
armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, in our
righteous might we will
gain the inevitable triumph. So help us God.” The vote to go to war was
nearly unanimous. Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom, said he had never slept so well as when he heard of the
Japanese sneak attack on America at Pearl Harbor because, he said, he
knew the United Kingdom would be safe when America entered the war. The
allies would add US power to their arsenal. <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;">I
can only watch the events of that day with a sense of envy. I thought
that it would be the last time the US was so united. Love of country and
its Democracy led us to that day. America rolled up its sleeves and
went to war to save Democracy for us, for the United Kingdom and for,
indeed, the world. <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;">
Governments are Instituted to show where the decision making powers
exist.
It has been said that Democracy is the worst form of government except
for all the others. Yes, it is difficult to get an entire nation's
representatives to agree on one issue. If one wants ease of decision
making then a totalitarian form of government is the one for you. The
totalitarian state takes the responsibility of decision making out of
the hands of the people and places it in the hands of one omnipotent
leader and his supportive henchmen whether one likes that decision or
not. His or her word is law. The leader is above the law. Moreover,
if one questions the leader's powers one opens oneself up to retaliatory
violence and even death because in a totalitarian form of government
such as Communism, Fascism, or monarchy the leader is the final and
really the only word. To defy his word means imprisonment, torture or
worse. <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;">Our
Founders showed their brilliance by dividing power up between three
institutions -- the Legislative, mentioned first, then the Executive,
and the Judicial branch each with its own set of powers and checks on
the other powers within the system. They called it "checks and
balances" whereby each institution can ride shotgun on Constitutional
democracy to protect it, importantly, <i>by non-violent opposition</i>.
That power is derived from a just set of Constitutionally allowable
techniques to arrive at policy through duly elected representatives of
the people. Yes, Democracy is sometimes messy and difficult but strives
toward fairness. The final arbitrators of stalemate are the Courts.
President Barack Obama loved the Martin Luther King quote "The arc of
the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice" so much so that
he had it woven into the carpet in the oval office. <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;">Our
values, those of our elected representatives and the courts are the
nationally agreed upon formation of how to handle differences in a
democracy. Couple that with a separation of church and state which the
Founders so presciently formed because they saw what happened when
religion's mandates are the final but ever so debatable arbiter.
Include the Bill of Rights to the essential fairness against the
usurpation of government power and one has a nation which has guarded
our Constitutional republic carefully against tyranny for over 200
years. <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;">Totalitarian
governments kill millions as there is no inhibitor on the leader. The
Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan in WWII killed an estimated 50
million or more. The founders of Democracies can try to stop that
because of the essential fairness within Democracy itself and its
ability to debate policy. Our Founders formed a Constitutional
lifeguard to protect our democratic union. We have as Benjamin Franklin
told the one who asked him what kind of government they had created--
"a Republic, if you can keep it" he said and so we have kept it for
over 200 years. 200 more years, anyone? Let's go for it!! <br /></div><span style="color: #888888;"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large; margin-left: 40px;"><br /><br /></div></span>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-69244278747051022012022-08-12T16:16:00.001-04:002022-08-30T07:03:04.416-04:00Tracking Trump's Troubles<p> <span style="color: black;">Summary by Zack Everson<b> </b>with <b>my Comments<br /></b></span></p><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><b>"Donald Trump is involved in so many lawsuits and investigations</b>–including
allegations of election interference, business fraud, violating the Ku
Klux Klan Act, mishandling presidential documents, inciting a mob,
defrauding his niece and personal defamation that it can be difficult to
keep them all straight." <i><br /></i></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><i>"Forbes</i> Magazine is making that easier, with this one-of-a-kind tracker following Trump’s troubles." <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">
<span style="color: black;"><b>My Comment</b>: I do not know about
you but when I clicked on the link to Trump's plethora of legal
entanglements I was overcome with mental incredulity. Examining all of
Trump's lawsuits both criminal and civil, reminded me of a tsunami. I
felt like I was drowning. There are so many lawsuits that Forbes
divided them into categories to make for easier reading. I enumerate
the categories below and put a number counting just how many lawsuits
there are. I attach the link below to the entire article which
summarizes each and every one for your reading enjoyment.<br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">1. Business - 14<br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">2. 2020 Election - 5 <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">3. January 6, 2021 - 9 <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">4. Personal Disputes - 10</span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2022/02/10/tracking-trump-arundown-of-all-the-investigations-and-cases-involving-the-former-president/?sh%3D6c25e7aa7f24&source=gmail&ust=1660421077958000&usg=AOvVaw3d-5-iE6M7nAtY-_JvGGAK" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2022/02/10/tracking-trump-arundown-of-all-the-investigations-and-cases-involving-the-former-president/?sh=6c25e7aa7f24" target="_blank">https://www.forbes.com/sites/<wbr></wbr>zacheverson/2022/02/10/<wbr></wbr>tracking-trump-arundown-of-<wbr></wbr>all-the-investigations-and-<wbr></wbr>cases-involving-the-former-<wbr></wbr>president/?sh=6c25e7aa7f24</a></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><b><i>My Comment</i></b>:
When Trump, with Melania behind him, rode down the escalator in Trump
Tower into our lives I had no idea of what a colossally horrid and
consequently disastrous fascistically authoritarian presidency he would
want to create with him at the helm. I had no idea he would zero in to
our political milieu attempting to dismember democracy and even carry
out with him our uber classified national nuclear secrets. <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Hillary
Clinton got the description of those who succumbed to his intoxicating
personality and lies as deplorable. That is exactly the correct
description of what his minions who, indeed, would unethically look away
even if he shot someone in Times Square. For some reason this ugly man
inside and out with his bleached blond swept over thinning hair would
captivate, perhaps, millions. <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">When
Benjamin Franklin was asked what kind of system the Founders created he
said it was a Republic "IF you can keep it." Thinking of the top
secret documents he stashed away when his presidency was done perhaps
nuclear in nature if you can keep it is up for grabs. What could this
immoral and unethical man do with the peoples documents he stole? They
are not his to keep, they are the people's documents. What means more
to the man Trump than his family or his country? I avere money is the
most important thing to the ugly man Trump. Yes, I think he would sell
this nation's nuclear secrets for millions to a nation that would pay
phenomenal money to him to have them. If I let my imagination run wild I
would say he could sell them to Putin, Saudi Arabia, China, North Korea
or anyone that could come up with enough money.<br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">A
Republic IF you can keep it is hanging by a thread. Dear God, protect
this nation from the unethical, immoral sickening slug that is Trump who
would sell his mother for a million bucks. A rightwing terrorist ally
of Trump advised us to sleep well after the FBI with warrant in hand
swept into Mar-A-Lago looking for nuclear documents Trump had squirreled
away. The right wing terrorist advised us to sleep well because the
next day he said would be war. I hope this is one war this nation will
win!<div class="yj6qo"></div><div class="adL"><br /></div></span></div><div class="gmail_default adL" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /><br /></span></div>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-54477245819148026442022-07-25T14:48:00.001-04:002022-07-25T14:48:25.620-04:00To be President or not to be that is the question<p> </p><h1><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My Comment: It is
debatable whether a newspaper editorial opinion has much sway as to the
outcome of major or even minor races for political office.
Occasionally, though, newspapers that slanted decidedly one way should
be paid attention to when for a singular moment in time they are
compelled to change their usual tune on the decidedly imperative and
mind blowing January 6, assault on the most democratic institution as
the US Capitol, the People's House. Such it is with the <i>New York Post</i> and the <i>Wall Street Journal,</i>
two usually resoundingly conservative voices and their usual
conservative political slant. I copied and pasted their views below
because I thought their opinions made the most sense and because I hoped
their opinions would land on Trump and especially his supporters' heads
like a ton of proverbial bricks which might be enough to doom this
decidedly and horrifically unqualified MAGA candidate, Donald Trump.</span> <span style="font-size: medium;">I
thought for some time what the tenor of my opinion would be but I could
not find the strongest words which would convey the most anti-Trump
sentiment to help doom his candidacy. Both the<i> New York Post </i>and the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> newspapers did what I could not.</span> <span style="font-size: medium;">I post them both below for your consideration.</span><br /></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Trump’s silence on Jan. 6 is damning -- New York Post -- Editorial Board</i><br /></span></h1><div></div><div>
<p>"As his followers stormed the Capitol, calling for his vice president
to be hanged, President Donald Trump sat in his private dining room,
watching TV, doing nothing</p>
<p>For three hours, seven minutes.</p>
<p>There has been much debate over whether Trump’s rally speech on Jan.
6, 2021, constituted “incitement.” That’s somewhat of a red herring.
What matters more — and has become crystal clear in recent days — is
that Trump didn’t lift a finger to stop the violence that followed.</p>
<p>And he was the only person who could stop what was happening. He was
the only one the crowd was listening to. It was incitement by silence.</p>
<p>Trump only wanted one thing during that infamous afternoon: to
pressure Vice President Mike Pence to decertify the election of Joe
Biden. <br /></p><p></p><p>
</p><p>He thought the violence of his loyal followers would make Pence crack, or delay the vote altogether. </p>
<p>To his eternal shame, as appalled aides implored him to publicly call
on his followers to go home, he instead further fanned the flames by
tweeting: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have
been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.”</p>
<p>His only focus was to find any means — damn the consequences — to block the peaceful transfer of power.</p>
<p>There is no other explanation, just as there is no defense, for his refusal to stop the violence.</p><p>
It’s up to the Justice Department to decide if this is a crime. But as a matter of principle, as a matter of <em>character</em>, Trump has proven himself unworthy to be this country’s chief executive again."</p><p>
</p><h1><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>WSJ editorial board: ‘Trump utterly failed’ his Jan. 6 trial by Caroline Vakil</i></span></h1><div>
<div>
<p>The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board criticized former President
Trump for refusing to take action on Jan. 6, 2021, as a mob of Trump
supporters ransacked the Capitol, saying in an editorial published
Friday that his vice president passed his “Jan. 6 trial” while Trump
“utterly failed his.”</p>
<p>“Mr. Trump took an oath to defend the Constitution, and he had a duty
as Commander in Chief to protect the Capitol from a mob attacking it in
his name. He refused. He didn’t call the military to send help. He
didn’t call [then-Vice President Mike Pence] to check on the safety of
his loyal VP. Instead he fed the mob’s anger and let the riot play out,”</p>
<div>
<div id="m_-7253485028886383986gmail-acm-ad-tag-mr1_ab-mr1_ab"></div> </div>
<p>“Character is revealed in a crisis, and Mr. Pence passed his Jan. 6
trial. Mr. Trump utterly failed his,” the editorial board added.</p>
<p>The Journal’s editorial came one day after the House select committee
investigating the Capitol riot held its final summer hearing, which
focused on the 187 minutes between Trump finishing his remarks at his
“Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6 and a tweet he sent in the late
afternoon telling his supporters to go home.</p>
<p>Using footage of taped depositions from officials like former White
House counsel Pat Cipollone and in-person testimony from Trump White
House officials Sarah Matthews and Matthew Pottinger, the committee
accused the former president of dereliction of duty as they described
how for hours he did nothing to stop the violence that ensued that day.</p>
<p>“President Trump did not fail to act during the 187 minutes between
leaving the Ellipse and telling the mob to go home,” committee member
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said during the hearing. “He chose not to
act.” </p>
<p>The Journal’s editorial board made clear that it did not agree with
the committee on all fronts of its investigation — arguing it “lacks
political balance” and was “trying to make a criminal case that might be
hard to prove and might tear the country apart.”</p>
<p>However, the editorial board also acknowledged that “the facts it is
laying out in hearings are sobering” as it condemned Trump’s inaction on
the day of the riot. </p>
<div>
<div id="m_-7253485028886383986gmail-acm-ad-tag-mr2_ab-mr2_ab"></div> </div>
<p>The editorial comes as The New York Post’s editorial board also
offered strong words against the former president in its own editorial
on Friday.</p>
<p>“It’s up to the Justice Department to decide if this is a crime. But
as a matter of principle, as a matter of character, Trump has proven
himself unworthy to be this country’s chief executive again,” </p></div></div></div>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-77172249270971026622022-06-30T06:52:00.002-04:002022-06-30T07:02:23.077-04:00A Jewish View on Abortion<p> </p><div class="ecm0bbzt e5nlhep0 a8c37x1j"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id" dir="auto" lang="en"><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I
was taught from a very young age by my mother that Jews consider the
life of the mother the most important and that if a choice had to be
made to save the life of the mother or the fetus or baby it was the
mother's life that took preeminence. <b>See link below</b>. I must have been only a child when
she told me specifically that. Now my mother was not a woman who was
involved in political issues but on that issue she was firm. I thought
Jews often get those social issues correct and it makes me proud now to
think that the tribe has it right </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">The
question now is how do we reverse that noxious decision overturning Roe? By electing a
Democratic president for the next decade or two as the older Supreme
Court justices retire. A Democratic president would not have to kow tow
to Christian right fundamentalists. Oh sure, easy ..... NOT but as my
example for all things political Professor Howard Zinn would have said
keep your eye on the prize and keep fighting no matter the right wing
extremists disgusting influence. They are wrong!! Do not give up the
fight to bring back choice and Roe. Full term human life is at stake!</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> <span style="color: #2b00fe;">https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/roe-v-wade-overturned-abortion-banned-christian-freedom-what-about-n1296568</span></div></div></span></span></div>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-76340348018692909042022-06-16T18:45:00.001-04:002022-06-16T18:45:07.646-04:00Clear and Present Danger<p><span style="font-size: large;"><span>The
January Six committee hearing today on the pressuring of Vice President
Pence by former president Donald Trump to not certify the electoral
college vote on January 6. Pence was asked by the former president
Trump to not certify the count and to throw the count back to the
states. Vice President Pence was told numerous times as was Trump that
it was not within his constitutional authority to do so. He was
authorized to certify the count as a formality only and had no authority
to question it, much less throw it back to the states as Trump wanted.
Pence told the president he could not do that and that it was
unconstitutional and, in fact, illegal for him to do this. He was met
with Trumpian fury calling Pence a "wimp." Pence stood his ground and
never faltered. He refused to declare the electoral count invalid
despite encountering much pressure and anger from the former president
against him. He was nothing less than a profile in courage. Pence
never capitulated. This was the most riveting and profound
congressional hearing on the January 6, 2021 violent insurrection at the
capitol as I have ever heard. I was riveted. The room was dead
silence as we heard the mesmerizing testimony of numbers involved in the
scheme or knew about it. <br /></span></span></p><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Again,
our nation has dodged a bullet that
would have understatedly compromised it if not destroyed our democracy
as we know it, plunging the nation into a constitutional crisis that
would shake the very foundations upon which the republic stands if not
destroy it. <br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>A
clear and present danger in the person of Donald J. Trump who attempted
to thwart the 2020 election and do what no other in our nation has
tried to do by unconstitutionally overthrowing the 2020 election and
subverting the will of the people. This would have thrown the nation
into a constitutional crisis which has never happened in the history of
this nation. Patriots and profiles in courage presented roadblocks
thereby saving our democratic republic at least this time. Mike Pence's
life was threatened as the violent mob egged on by Trump yelled "hang
Mike Pence." There was a gallows with a rope awaiting the successful
location of him. He was destined for hanging if the mob could locate
him. Pence refused to get into his chauffeured car worrying that he
might be whisked off to a place unknown. Rightfully, he was in fear for
his life and did not know how far Trump would go not accepting his
electoral loss. One can only shudder at what could have happened as
the mob was itching to locate Nancy Pelosi, Senator Schumer and others
who could have been in their sites and even killed.<br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>
J. Michael Lusttig, a retired federal judge and leading conservative who
advised Vice President Mike Pence ahead of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S.
Capitol, that it would be illegal not to certify the electors. </span>Lustig's
testimony was measured and profound. One could see he was shaken to
his core at just how close this nation came to its destruction. If you
get a chance to view the questioning today I suggest you do so (See link
below). <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;">"A
republic if you can keep it," Franklin answered when a woman questioned
what type of government the Founders formed. So far a free nation
stands irrespective of the clear and present danger it suffered and
still does from Trump. <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-jan-6-hang-mike-pence_n_62ab3b72e4b0c77098aaf481&source=gmail&ust=1655505415947000&usg=AOvVaw1Xw7b7A1Rnob7B4wCG9nrK" href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-jan-6-hang-mike-pence_n_62ab3b72e4b0c77098aaf481" target="_blank">https://www.huffpost.com/<wbr></wbr>entry/trump-jan-6-hang-mike-<wbr></wbr>pence_n_<wbr></wbr>62ab3b72e4b0c77098aaf481</a></span></div><div class="gmail_default adL"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="adL">
</div><div class="ajx"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><table class="cf wS" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="amq"><span style="font-size: large;"><img class="ajn bofPge" data-hovercard-id="natalierosen66@gmail.com" id=":2a_9" name=":2a" src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/no_photo.png" /></span></td><td class="amr"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-38043149254188049382022-06-12T08:55:00.003-04:002022-06-12T08:55:55.714-04:0031 Patriot Front Extremists Aiming To 'Riot' At Idaho Pride Event Arrested: Officials<p> </p><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yet another moment of incredulity. See link below. <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span dir="auto" lang="en">We are 1/2 an ever-so-violent nation with one of two only parties, the Republican Party, offering right wing fascist
tendencies!</span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span dir="auto" lang="en">Can no one stop this reality? <br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><b><span style="color: blue;">VOTE DEMOCRAT AND TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO VOTE DEMOCRAT ALSO AND SAVE DEMOCRACY.</span></b></span></span><p> </p><p> </p><p> https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coeur-dalene-pride-event-riot_n_62a52bc1e4b0cf43c849dd90</p>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-4761148452430879542022-06-12T08:28:00.004-04:002022-06-12T08:28:52.984-04:00The Republican Party today<p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>Take
a look at the link below, read it and wonder why oh why could this guy who
said what he did still win his seat? <br /></span></span></p><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>Is this what the Republican Party
has become? I shake my head in dismay and disbelief. Where is this
nation headed with a totalitarian right wing extremist party as the only
other choice for whom to vote? Sad, god awful sad!</span> <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://news.yahoo.com/gop-candidate-carl-paladino-calls-161513014.html&source=gmail&ust=1655123086845000&usg=AOvVaw0gp-ndu_IbtyLFtuvXrJON" href="https://news.yahoo.com/gop-candidate-carl-paladino-calls-161513014.html" target="_blank">https://news.yahoo.com/gop-<wbr></wbr>candidate-carl-paladino-calls-<wbr></wbr>161513014.html</a></div><div class="yj6qo"></div><div class="adL">
</div><div class="hi"></div><div class="ajx"><br /></div><table class="cf wS" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="amq"><img class="ajn bofPge" data-hovercard-id="natalierosen66@gmail.com" id=":o1_58" name=":o1" src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/no_photo.png" /></td><td class="amr"><div class="nr wR"><div class="amn"></div></div><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-81209830540687660642022-06-02T10:58:00.002-04:002022-06-02T10:58:30.291-04:00Violence guns and men<p> </p><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">The past weeks news
of murderous gun violence both in Buffalo, New York at a Tops
supermarket and beyond in Uvalde, Texas, at the Robb Elementary School
taking the lives of nineteen innocent children and 2 teachers again
drove me into a cerebral stupor as I try to explain these
all-too-frequent occurrences in our nation. I am saturated with sadness
drowning in tears and with, I admit, rage. Both emotions beg for
analyses as to why these senseless acts of gun violence, and murder of
innocents occur with seemingly never-ending shameful regularity in our
nation. <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">Perhaps,
because the analysis of this national gun violence is so complex in its
abundance weaving in and out of a
labyrinth that it makes me want to give up before I even try to make
sense of it all. Let's attack the understanding of violence from both a
larger perspective of historical and biological rationales to
a smaller analysis that is particular to our own national history. <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">Man
is and has been a violent creature both because of an evolutionary
propensity to survive and prevail over anything else. His desire to
satisfy this seemingly bottomless hunger to get what he wants in
competitive struggle with those around him and even with alien others
continues in perpetuity. We can see this combat in other species, too,
in their desire for dominance both with their own kind and in a
survival-of-the-fittest competition with others for scarce resources. As
man progressed so did his inclination to make war and his ability to
build a better mousetrap or weapon became prominent. In sum, the violent
nature of our species' DNA cannot be denied. Violence is in us from
our evolutionary beginning. <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">In
a smaller national analysis, why is gun violence and the killing it
births so prevalent in our nation? The film director Michael Moore was
asked that question. He tends to agree with the NRA’s stance that “guns
don’t kill
people — people kill people,” <i>but</i> he believes it is more accurate
to say,
“Americans kill people.” He said we are a violent nation; violent from
the very beginning of our nation's founding and that we are good at it.
White men gained power by destroying first the Indians whom they
discovered were here before anyone else then systematically conquering
black and brown African people by the millions forcing them into the
cruel indentured servitude of slavery over centuries that has been
entrenched in Black history and shows its mark today. America has been
at war first against the British, and then followed a series of violent
conquests shown in the chart below dedicated in this nation and in
pertinent part to the maintenance of white supremacy and the maintenance
of white men over black and brown men in positions of power. <br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></div>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-16522557135518676742022-05-26T09:01:00.005-04:002022-05-26T09:01:44.145-04:00NO WORDS JUST TEARS<h2 class="hP" data-legacy-thread-id="180f8603c6cf9fc7" data-thread-perm-id="thread-a:r3402632946850534920" id=":2w2" tabindex="-1">14 elementary school children massacred and one teacher - No words just tears</h2><h2 class="hP" data-legacy-thread-id="180f8603c6cf9fc7" data-thread-perm-id="thread-a:r3402632946850534920" id=":2w2" tabindex="-1"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">I must write something and yet there
are no words or if there are I cannot right now express or find them. </span><br /></span></span></h2><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>With all the injustice in this
country and now this massacre -- the height of injustice. I can think of one word -- children, children, children. <br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Texas
governor Abbott should be fired i.e. thrown out of office
with umpteen Republicons going with him like Ted Cruz and many others
who suck at the breast of the NRA and gun manufacturers. Money the
mother's milk of corruption. The NRA means money in these
unconscionable elected officials' pockets -- mainly Republican but not
always exclusively Republican yet mostly Republican.<br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>These
were 2nd,
3rd and 4th graders. This is worse than shootings all over the country
every day. One cannot minimize this and put it in the same category as
all
the others sad as those shootings were and have been. This is Newtown
II. Children, barely out of the crib cut down in senseless slaughter.<br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span>I must collect my emotional self; perhaps more words will follow but now there are no words just tears.<img alt="😢" aria-label="😢" class="an1 CToWUd" data-emoji="😢" src="https://fonts.gstatic.com/s/e/notoemoji/14.0/1f622/32.png" /></span></span><p> </p>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-35094176300350748812022-05-03T12:50:00.000-04:002022-05-03T12:50:04.897-04:00Staggering: Supreme Court Leak Shows Justices Preparing To Overturn Roe<p> </p><div role="none"><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span><div role="none"><div role="none"><div role="none"><div class="adM" dir="auto" role="none"><br /></div><div dir="auto" role="none"><span style="font-size: large;">This
is what happens when you have minority rule as a result of colossal
gerrymandering and vote fixing. The majority on the issue of abortion in
this country is well defined and in huge numbers wants abortion to be
kept safe and legal.</span></div></div></div></div></span></span></div></div><div dir="auto" role="none"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span></span></span><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" role="none"><span style="font-size: large;">Funny
how Republicans when abortion is not legal turn their backs on the
result of having a child that is not wanted either because of major
birth defects, rape, financial hardship or the god <i>awful</i>
occurrence of incest? When the life of the mother is secondary what
happens to that child when abortion is illegal? Republicans wash their
hands of the responsibility for the care and maintenance of an unwanted
or for that matter a medically compromised child.
<span dir="auto" lang="en">Worse still is the thought of mandating a juvenile or a child to have a child.</span></span>
</div><div dir="auto" role="none"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" role="none"><span style="font-size: large;">If
one can believe a Republican woman said that making abortion illegal
presents a good opportunity for the mother to have a child and they
further say that child could cure cancer. This is where their lack of
intelligence presents stupidity as the result of this heinous decision.
It will stand with the abhorrent
Dred Scott Supreme Court decision as one of the worst court decisions
in US history. <br /></span></div><div dir="auto" role="none"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" role="none"><span style="font-size: large;">What
if that unwanted child does NOT cure cancer but becomes a serial
killer? The two possibilities are of equal merit. I would go out on a
limb and say having an unwanted child produces unwanted results. It is
more likely that child will suffer the negative ramifications of his/her
birth. </span></div><div dir="auto" role="none"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">So
what does that mean for the majority in this nation? It means that the
Democratic/Independent Progressive voting MUST be gotten out en
masse!! Support Democrats up and down the ticket and hope we all live
to see the day when quack abortionists and the deaths they wield to
women do not become the rule.</span>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-65056803651326996462022-04-25T20:02:00.001-04:002022-04-25T20:02:41.676-04:00David and Goliath<p> <span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="auto" lang="en">Short
of being in the middle of the Ukraine and Russian war crimes war I can
only accept what those I trust who have been there are saying. We are
still a
democracy and free speech is our best shot at truth telling. I was
skeptical of Secretary of State Blinken's statement yesterday after the
Kyiv visit that Russia is failing in its war aims, and Ukraine is
succeeding. I trust our advocates of
free speech to tell the truth and know for sure Putin is a consummate
liar just like Trump. The visit yesterday of our two highest
secretaries -- Secretary of State Blinken and our military expert
and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin -- were shining examples of
American
commitment to Ukraine's winning this war for the protection of democracy
and to crush the authoritarian war criminal
Putin and his authoritarian state. In
view of the powerful support of the US, other democracies and the
Ukrainian superb
resistance I am believing Blinken's statement that Ukraine will be there
long after Putin's demise. [applause applause</span><img alt="image.png" class="CToWUd" data-image-whitelisted="" height="36" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=d1e1210707&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msg-a:r696071886920833066&th=1806129e75f1ac4c&view=fimg&fur=ip&sz=s0-l75-ft&attbid=ANGjdJ9aWllXNg_yAra-EefXAYKEO4vKFgGfFXhwBe_lVDel716WvmyzKrx1cKJe2vUa7m-R7AIAZSQRi0WJjeiaQTdjWdIzL8l2FPlskZVZ3TXlhkg1rFyO_6KTDKg&disp=emb&realattid=ii_l2esdgjv1" style="margin-right: 0px;" width="36" />]<br /></span></p><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="auto" lang="en">I
hope
as the days pass and Ukraine wins it will be the world's win and Ukraine
will
go down in history as the greatest victory since David fought Goliath.
This time a Ukrainian win will be a phenomenal victory for democracy and
those who study war will marvel at the Ukrainian success and superb
perseverance against the bloviating mammoth Russia for a very long time.
And, oh by the way, in France the rightwing extremist fascist Marine
LePen [yes, that is how she spells her name] lost by a very large
margin. We breathe a sigh of relief! Onward, to defeat in this country
our own fascist threat, the Trumpians and their Republican allies who
want power so much they are willing to take democracy down to get it.
Do not let them. Vote Democrat up and down the ticket!</span></span>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-51494032999455564152022-04-04T15:11:00.003-04:002022-04-25T20:05:46.112-04:00The crime of war<div class="Ar Au Ao" id=":178" style="display: block;"><div aria-label="Message Body" aria-multiline="true" class="Am Al editable LW-avf tS-tW tS-tY" contenteditable="true" id=":17c" role="textbox" spellcheck="false" style="direction: ltr; min-height: 440px;" tabindex="1"><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;">War is so bestial and so horrific, and so damaging it is a wonder to me that nations would consider war as an option to solve differences between nation states. I also thought WWII taught mankind a war crimes lesson. Humanity has been taught that the horrific war crimes committed by nations when they are at war will be prosecuted as they were at Nuremberg and in modern times by the ICC (The International Criminal Court -- The Hague.) <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;">We know crimes committed by the German state in WWII rose to the level of war crimes much like Justice Stewart defined pornography as "I know it when I see it" to determine what is profanity. War crimes, similarly, committed by nations at war are so horrific, so serious, so obvious and so beyond the definition of civilized humanity that, indeed, it too falls under the conclusion like pornography--I know a war crime when I see it. Still, those nations prosecuted by the Hague give civilized man a yardstick to measure atrocities when they are committed by persons engaged in war and give humanity a place to prosecute those crimes in the International Criminal Court.<span id="gmail-DeltaPlaceHolderMain"> "The International Criminal Court the (ICC) investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the
gravest crimes of concern to the international community those of: genocide, war
crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression." Do we know a war crime when we see it? Yes, but to extract from that the ability to try, convict and punish those who have committed war crimes is, especially in the instant case of Russia's reprehensible crimes against humanity against the sovereign nation Ukraine we need a definitional format of just what the war crime(s) is (are). We are helped by the media with their voluminous reporting and photographing the many atrocities committed by Russia commanded by and at the direction of Vladimir Putin against the innocent civilian population of Ukraine.</span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="gmail-DeltaPlaceHolderMain"><br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="gmail-DeltaPlaceHolderMain">The media and photography give the mind's eye truth to asking the court to press charges against Russia for war crimes. "Western and Ukrainian leaders have accused Russia of war crimes before,
and the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor has opened a probe to
investigate the conflict." "But the latest reports ratcheted up the
condemnation even further, with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
and some Western leaders going so far as to accuse Russia of genocide." I concur with this request. Yes, I know war crimes when I see them. The Maripol bombing in general but in particular of a hospital by Russians and a pregnant woman succumbing to the attacks is yet another example of a war crime.</span> Hundreds maybe thousands of civilians have been raped. <span style="color: black;">"Russian </span>soldiers have raped girls as young as ten and branded women’s bodies with swastikas," a Ukrainian MP has claimed. Lesia Vasylenko said children had been left with wounds from serious sexual assault, adding: “Russian men did this.” It comes as
Russian troops are accused of massacring, torturing and raping hundreds
of civilians on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv in Bucha and in Irpin. <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;">To my mind war is so lethal, so barbaric, and so inhuman that war itself should be labeled a war crime. Man's inhumanity to man I was always told is a permanent condition of mankind. If one looks at the concentration camps of WWII, and looks at Ukraine now there can be no doubt that war itself is a war crime. 50 million people died in WWII. Yes, I said 50 million. What kind of mental contortions have to be constructed to allow man the ability to do that to the innocent of other men. As I see it, those NATO nations should act to defend Ukraine and give them all the weapons they need to defend against the Russian beast despite Ukraine not being a member of NATO. The crime of war should bring with it a potential for the redress of grievances. Justice, justice, justice I cry so that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice the oft quoted line speaks. I wake up, take a shower, then think on the crime of war and ask where can the Ukrainian go to find justice and how long will it take? It will take as the song said to the twelfth of never and that is a long long time. <br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;">In the meantime give those Ukrainians what they need to fight Putin's plague and watch as this time justice may bend toward justice even within the crime of war!</span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default">
</div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="gmail-DeltaPlaceHolderMain"><br /></span></span>
</div></div></div><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-17659676118241400282022-03-29T14:19:00.003-04:002022-03-29T14:19:39.064-04:00A reason to hope and a time to kvell?<p><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Russia
has agreed to talks with Zalensky and according to MSNBC reporting
Ukraine is entering into these talks from a position of strength!!! I
hope that is correct. I do not want to wax euphoric .... YET. <br /></span></span></p><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Democracy
and Ukraine it seems, so far, are winning this war. Russia
underestimated the strength of Ukraine. If Russia were
winning they would never enter into talks. Could the good guys be
victorious? I surely HOPE SO as do the many democratic states in
Europe. This is the most positive I have been
since the invasion of Russian aggressors almost a month ago when I knew
the Ukrainians would launch a patriotic defense of their land but could
Russian numbers in the end prevail. <br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Keep praying for Ukraine or do what you do by asking a higher power to overcome the imbalanced strength of the Russian Goliath.<br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>As
a side note. Thoughts about the Ukrainian people. My grandparents
emigrated from Ukraine from the towns of Shepatovka and Sluvuta (at the
turn of the 20th century) to overcome Russian pogroms (organized
attacks) and the Nazi Holocaust against the Jews. What a smart move!
Had they stayed they probably would have ended up in Babi Yar, a pit
where they tossed dead Jews. Over 33,000 Jews were killed and tossed
there in over a week's time. I never knew my grandfather but I can only
kvell (Yiddish for beam with pride) at the foresight he had to get on a
boat to America, to him, a strange land. I was told he was fiercely
patriotic and loved this country. His progeny reflected the success for
which he</span> had hoped. It and other branches spawned doctors,
businessmen and women, teachers, a diplomat at the presidential level
and many college graduates. Oh yes, by the way, Zelensky, the president
of Ukraine, is Jewish. So much for the Russian fake news that Ukraine
was invaded by Nazis and that the Russians are engaged in a defensive
war against them. That falls into the category of Russian bulls&^%.<br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;">The moral of that story is trust NOTHING Putin says and pray for the good democratic people of Ukraine to prevail!!</span><div class="adL"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="gmail_default adL"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="adL"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default adL" style="font-size: large;"><span><br /></span>
</div>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-15967144058929808652022-03-09T15:36:00.001-05:002022-03-23T07:04:01.172-04:00ANOTHER GOP BEAST<div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">GOP Sen. Mike Braun Says Interracial Marriage Should Be Left To The States. <span dir="auto" lang="en"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><span dir="auto" lang="en"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="gmail_default">
<div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="auto">The link below is about our kindly empathetic GOP. If it were up to
Indiana Senator Mike Braun the ugly position above would be law.
He walked it back by saying he got the question wrong. If anyone
believes that I have a bridge to sell you. <br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="auto"><br /></span></span></div></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><span dir="auto" lang="en">
<span dir="auto" lang="en">Why
doesn't the vile, sickening, putrid Republican senator from Indiana set
up his own Nazi state somewhere the art of being an empathetic human is
non existent?</span></span></span><span dir="auto"> Another dirtbag in the GOP.</span></span><span dir="auto" lang="en"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><span style="font-size: large;"> These
GOPers crawl out from the bottom of the sea. Question: How many GOPers agree
with him? Answer: Many. </span></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><span style="font-size: large;">Vote Democratic Blue everywhere!</span> <br /></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><br /></span></span><span dir="auto" lang="en"><span dir="auto" lang="en"></span></span>
</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><span dir="auto" lang="en"></span></span></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><span dir="auto" lang="en">
</span></span><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mike-braun-interracial-marriage_n_623a3627e4b0c727d4848948&source=gmail&ust=1648119341900000&usg=AOvVaw2-C4r-qbZv9Ckp_IAMZMHu" href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mike-braun-interracial-marriage_n_623a3627e4b0c727d4848948" target="_blank">https://www.huffpost.com/<wbr></wbr>entry/mike-braun-interracial-<wbr></wbr>marriage_n_<wbr></wbr>623a3627e4b0c727d4848948</a></span></div><div class="yj6qo"></div><div class="gmail_default adL" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="adL">
</div></div><div class="gmail_default adL" style="font-size: large;"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><span dir="auto" lang="en"><br /><br /></span></span></div><h2 class="hP" data-legacy-thread-id="17fb654874ca1151" data-thread-perm-id="thread-a:r-5659801924615849985" id=":1os" tabindex="-1"></h2>Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32520698.post-49791812440316677342022-02-15T12:24:00.002-05:002022-02-20T10:29:34.286-05:00THE RUSSIAN CHALLENGE AND THE NATO MANTRA
Dissecting the international upheaval is a challenge. In truth, whether Putin will attack Ukraine I do not really know. I suspect he will push forward because what I do know and have said often is that Russia in the end wants a reemergence under its power the Russian Eastern European block nations before the fall of the Soviet Union.
Crimea was first, now it is Ukraine, soon I suspect Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will be in his sights as is Bulgaria. The Nazi horror Hitler is Putin's teacher. Little by little Hitler emerged as a potent force for the annexation of German hegemony through the appropriation of nations one by one on the pretext of protecting German speaking people. Chamberlain got it wrong. Hitler wanted the whole of Europe and would stop at nothing. The Sudetenland land was first, then Poland, Czechoslovakia and beyond were under German authoritarian aegis. He did not stop at the Sudetenland. Hitler was stopped by Russia because the Russian winter was a prohibitive factor. Make no mistake Hitler wanted Russia too. Hitler wanted the world. The allies and the Russian winter ultimately defeated him before Hitler could have won it all and now our allies must remain united and not repeat the Chamberlain debacle by allowing Putin to gain little by little what he wants by invasion.
NATO was designed in the face of Nazi defeat to never let another power reach for global domination. Putin does not want NATO to stop him now. It must not be sanctioned that one nation by merely overpowering other nations surrounding its borders can again do the same just because it wants to. Our NATO allies must hold fast stopping Russian aggression or the west will see a reemergence of the attempt at world domination and authoritarian leadership.
We are now at an inflection point. Domestic right wing extremism in our midst makes for a very dangerous situation with a nuclear power flexing its Russian muscle saying do not let NATO or anything else threaten Russian power. The US can play that game too and should flex its own threatening muscle in response. Perhaps extreme sanctions can stop the Russian state. My first inclination is to say no it will not but the NATO powers should remain together saying as NATO's mantra said that an attack on one nation is an attack on all.
Natalie Rosenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904016081469188620noreply@blogger.com0